“If I’m going to grow, I want to grow in Ice’s direction. I want him to grow with me.” - Coco on her relationship with Ice T

“Being happily married, I’m more focused on what I’m doing. Ya know, one of my quotes is ‘love isn’t looking somebody in the eyes; it’s looking out in the same direction.” – Ice T on his relationship with Coco

(February 7, 2012, Los Angeles, CA) – In 2011, viewers fell in love with Ice T and Coco on their hit E! reality series. Now, on the eve of the show’s second season premiere, “E! True Hollywood Story” brings fans back to the beginning and showcases the pair’s remarkable story. Complete with exclusive, intimate interviews with Ice T, Coco and the members of their private inner-circle, the one-hour THS reveals how this unconventional couple found each other and what a wild ride it has been for both. The father of gangster rap, Ice T’s road to stardom was filled with criminal activity, devastating loss, and a near-fatal accident. Coco, too, had her fair share of trouble growing up, facing foes like poverty and her mother’s life-threatening illness. However, despite the ups and downs, their rock-solid union – a rarity in Hollywood – is stronger than ever and their show “Ice Loves Coco,” is generating legions of fans around the globe. With unprecedented candor, the couple sits down with E! and tells their story as only they can. To see it from the very beginning, be sure to tune-in to the “E! True Hollywood Story: Ice T and Coco” on February 12th at 11:00 PM only on E!

When the pair met on the set of a music video in 2001 the sparks were instantaneous. Coco tells E!, “I’ve always been into bad asses, you know, I like hard core men. Ice was just that, he was an aggressive character, but he had a little flavor [and] at the same time he made me laugh. That’s a good package right there.” Ice adds, “She ended up coming to New York to visit. When it was time for her to go home – I never forget - she looked at me and she had like puppy eyes and I was like ‘you don’t wanna go huh?’ And she’s like [shakes head]. I was like ‘advance to the next level of the game, because I had a great time with you and I don’t want you to go.’”

After only two months, the couple sealed the deal. “I remember we were in our apartment in Manhattan and we were [lying] in bed and we were looking in each other’s eyes and we exchanged vows,“ Coco tells E! “I gave her a ring and from that moment we conducted ourselves as married people – we told everybody we’re married,” added Ice T. A 2002 Vegas ceremony made it legal and the addition of their beloved dog, Spartacus, further strengthened the family unit.

As happy as Ice T and Coco are now, with their successful careers and hit reality TV show, life was not always smooth sailing. “My whole life I never really had a support – system, so to speak,” Ice T tells E! “When you fall down and there is nobody to cry to, you learn to stop crying.” After losing bothof his parents before age fourteen, Ice T was sent to live with his aunt in southern California. “His aunt was very strict, there really was no love at the house,” Sean E. Sean, a close friend of Ice T’s tells E!. The future rapper found himself hanging out with the wrong crowd, “I had to become like what they call a ‘gang affiliate.’ You know, you understand the rules and the guidelines of the gangs and you’re friends of gangs, but it’s difficult to be jumped into a gang if you’re not from that particular neighborhood,” he explains. Coco also struggled. She endured her parents’ divorce and was heartbroken by her mother’s serious illness. Then, as a young adult, Coco faced rejection in the modeling world as a result of her evolving look. She tells E!, “it’s like, I changed my appearance got bigger boobs and blond hair and… they weren’t accepting. It pissed me off. I’m the same exact person, I’m doing the same walk, I’m doing the same pose, the same turn and just because I got a little surgery people are against it.”

From Ice T’s turbulent youth to Coco’s personal struggles, the E! True Hollywood Story: Ice T and Coco showcases these two pop culture fixtures and how their love and devotion have made them a force to be reckoned with.

Be sure to tune-in to the E! True Hollywood Story: Ice T and Coco on February 12th at 11:00 PM on E!